Any man can be kind when he is comfortable. I'd always thought kindness a trivial virtue, therefore. But when we were hungry, thirsty, sick, frightened, with our deaths shouting at us, in the heart of horror, you were still as unfailingly courteous as a gentleman at ease before his own hearth.

I am an atheist, myself. A simple faith, but a great comfort to me, in these last days.

The rule for finding plots for character-centered novels, which is to ask: 'So what's the worst possible thing I can do to *this* guy?' And then do it.

For me, writing is more a process of discovering the book than planning it.

Never do yourself, what you can con professionals into doing for you.

There is a sad disconnectedness that overcomes a library when its owner is gone.

Aim high. You may still miss the target, but at least you won't shoot your foot off.